


They Weren't So Lucky

by Moonscar



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Crying, Fluff, Foster Home Mention, Foster Parents Mention, Guilt, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, High School, Homophobia, Humor, Mentions of Nightmares, Mentions of PTSD, Mild Fluff, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Racism, School Shootings, Survivor Guilt, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, They all need a hug, panic attack mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-11-01 03:01:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20807579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonscar/pseuds/Moonscar
Summary: "If only we'd known what would have happened, I feel like we would've done things differently..."Or where the sides are all stuck in a tricky situation.





	They Weren't So Lucky

_"It was, just a normal day at school-"_

Virgil lightly slapped Roman's shoulder as the obnoxious teen laughed. Patton was looking at the two fondly while Logan worked on his homework due for next week.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop! I'll stop!" Roman said, laughing harder as Virgil went to tickle him as revenge for his annoyingly witty comments. Virgil finally let up, scooting away from him, hissing at him jokingly, which only made Roman laugh harder. Logan glanced up at the two teens across from him, wearing the most exasperated expression.

"Virgil, aren't you supposed to finish your homework for Math?" Logan asked pointedly, and Virgil shrugged lazily, swatting at Roman's hand that came to tickle him.

"Yeah, but that's not until 3rd period. I'll just do it in my other classes" Virgil said, slapping at Roman's hand once again, and Roman finally gave up, pursing his lips in a pout as he sulked. Logan let out a sigh, but didn't bother to tell him how that was counterproductive.

"It's okay Lo! We're still all passing!" Patton tried to comfort, smiling cheekily at the other.

"Barely" Logan said, as brutally honest as ever, but Patton's smile didn't falter.

"Barely passing is still passing!"

"...I suppose so" Logan begrudgingly admitted, and Roman piped up.

"Oh please Logan, with your logic, anything bellow 85% is a disgrace" He said, waving his hands for emphasis. Logan bristled at that.

"I'm not _that _bad!" He said, and Virgil eyed him.

"Roman's kind of right- And we all know that if I'm backing up Roman on any claim, it as to hold some truth-" Virgil said, and just before Roman could fire back a reply, Patton spoke up.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that! It just means you reach for success!" Patton quickly cut in, quick to diffuse the situation. Logan's tense shoulders instantly relaxed, and he closes his eyes, pushing his glasses back in place.

"Of course, thank you Patton" He said, and Patton grinned at him cheekily. Just as Virgil went to speak up, the obnoxious bell rung, signaling that they should all be heading to their first class. Instantly, the sound of chairs moving and people running could be heard in the cafeteria. The four all stood up.

"I'm heading to the 600 section, anyone else going in that direction?" Roman inquired to the others.

"I am" Logan said, his notebooks now clutched to his chest. Roman nodded and glanced at the two others, who shook their heads.

"I'm heading in English" Virgil said, and Patton smiled sheepishly.

"I'm going into Home Economics with Emile" Patton said, and then they all went in their separate directions.

_"If only we'd known what would have happened, I feel like we would've done things differently..."_

Virgil was in Art class with Patton when there was a bang heard. Virgil jumped instantly and glanced up, looking over to Patton who seemed just as confused as he did.

"Maybe it's the Science class next door?" A student piped up, and then there was another bang heard. Everyone looked at each other, and slowly it started dawning on everyone. Instantly, the Art Teacher stood up from her desk.

"Everyone, remain calm! I need the stronger students to help me push heavy objects in front of the door! I need the students in the back to close the blinds! Everyone else go sit against the inferior wall! Stay as quiet as possible" She called out, her voice commanding as the students sprung into action. 

While everyone fulfilled their roles, Virgil stood up with Patton, the two going in the direction to sit against the inferior wall.

_"Everyone was working in tandem, the panic not having set in just yet."_

Logan was leaving the bathroom when he heard the gunshot, loud and clear as he echoed along the halls. For a moment, he felt confusion, until he heard screaming.

Then another gunshot. 

So he ran.

He ran towards the cafeteria, where the closest exit was.

Already he could feel his lungs screaming and heart beating frantically, either from the adrenaline or the exercise he couldn't tell. 

"_I'm someone who's very logical, and even in the event of a crisis my first thought was to evacuate the premise, since I was aware that was my best chance of escape."_

As he ran into the cafeteria, he could hear the gunshots from behind him, further away now.

He briefly wondered to himself who he could possibly be shooting at, when classes weren't even in.

In the cafeteria, he couldn't see anyone at first glance, but he could hear sobbing coming from further down. He instantly made himself look smaller as he kept his run.

When he saw two students hidden under tables, the boy sobbing while the older girl tried to shush him. He skidded to a halt and quickly squatted down, now hiding behind the table as well.

"Come on, we need to get out" He said, voice rushed and holding a hint of urgency. He was aware that if he panicked, the other two would probably follow suit, and yet he couldn't keep that edge out of his voice. The girl looked up at him and nodded slightly, tugging at the boy's sleeve.

"We need to go Terrence-" The girl whispered urgently to him, but he shook violently with sobs, shaking his head. Logan bit his lip, the gunshots getting closer.

"We need to go _now" _Logan whispered before looking up, the shooter not yet in his line of sight. The girl nodded and muttered something under her breath before hauling him to his feet. The boy stumbled but didn't collapse. She grabbed onto his hand tightly and dragged him along. Logan ushered them towards the exit, all three of them now running full speed as they pushed open the doors.

They ran out of the school, and Logan quickly pointed over towards a parked car.

"Behind that!" He called out, and wordlessly they all ran behind the car, instantly sitting down out of view from any windows inside the school. While the girl comforted the boy, Logan pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services.

He didn't allow himself to worry about his friends just yet.

"_I couldn't just leave them there, even if it put my life in danger"_

_"How does it feel knowing you performed that act of heroism? You might've saved their lives"_

_"It's not an act of heroism, it's an act of humanity"_

Roman was in the library, sketching in his sketchbook instead of reading the book like he was supposed to. He was seated at the table with Emile and Remy. While Emile was dutifully doing his work, Remy was in a throwing match with Remus, who sat at the table next to them with Dee. They were throwing small wads of paper at each other.

The only reason they were all together is because there were 3 separate classrooms that had decided to come to the library. There wasn't enough room so some people sat on the floor, while others were in between the book aisles.

Roman glanced over at his twin brother at the other table and let out an exasperated sigh, but didn't comment on it. Despite the fact he sometimes got on his nerves, he still loved the guy. 

Then, the door to the library swung open violently, and the deafening sounds of gunshots echoed throughout the library.

Terrified screams rung out as people scrambled.

Roman instantly ducked down under the table, his friends and brother following suit. In the loud chaos, he quickly zipped open his bag and grabbed for some pepper spray he always carried around with him. He looked over at his friends and went to hand his scissors to Remy. He shook his head and quickly showed the switchblade he always carried around with him, nodding slightly at him. Roman nodded slightly and held it in his hand tightly. Roman eyed his brother and Dee. Dee appeared to be holding Remy's pepper spray and Remy holding his pair of scissors.

Roman will make sure to thank his parents for being so overprotective once he gets home.

If he gets home. 

_"Why were the two of you so quick to react like that? Most people wouldn't think to grab their scissors or even pepper spray, especially not against a shooter"_

_"Well, our parents are a bit overprotective and trained us in case of an attack."_

_"We go to a lot of local Prides" _

Next to them, Emile sobbed and cried to himself, hugging his knees while Remy tried to calm him down. None of them could see the shooter, but they could hear them.

"You a fucking faggot!? Huh!?" The guy screamed, and in response there was louder sobbing. Then, a shot rang out and there was further screaming. Emile sobs intensified. Remy tried to shush him, but Emile seemed to be completely dead to the world.

_"...We later learned he shot because the guy was wearing a rainbow pin"_

The guys went down the library, shooting at people randomly, sometimes targeting specific people, whether it be for their religion, the color of their skin or their sexual identity.

But mostly, they shot randomly, as though showcasing that nothing is ever guaranteed, and that no matter who you are, you risk dying.

He mocked some of them.

Then he walked by their table, and Emile's sobs intensified. The guy paused and pointed his gun under the table in Emile's direction, and Roman felt his heart pound harder as Emile was grabbed and dragged out, gun pointed at him.

"Hey asshole!" Dee said, having crawled out from the table and was standing on the other end of it.

The shooter diverted his attention and shot.

"_I was scared... We all were"_

Virgil held onto Patton's hand tightly while said friend hugged someone to his side, the person clutching onto him for dear life. Most everyone was silently freaking out, but their class was relatively silent considering they could still hear students in the classroom next to them crying loudly. 

Near the door every student was either clutching a pair of scissors or Exacto knives with the teacher held onto the fire extinguisher, holding at the pin just in case something were to happen. There was the sudden jingling of the doorknob, and everyone held there breath, anyone that was starting to cry people instantly covered their mouths.

There was then slamming on the door, as though the shooter was ramming their shoulder into it.

Patton pressed his face against Virgil's shoulder, letting out muffled sobs as the two held hands, not caring for the sweat that coated their hands.

The pounding continued.

Logan sat behind the car with Terrence and the girl still, a couple of other students having joined them. They'd seen other people exit the school, most of them sporadic, either alone or in groups of two or three. At a certain point a group of around 20 people exited the school, all separated to make a harder target. 

Most everyone found cover behind trees and cars, some of them on the phone with 911 to inform them of what was going on.

Logan examined all their faces, but found none he recognised.

He didn't let himself panic.

Then, he could hear the sirens coming closer and closer.

Remy lunged forward, not wasting any time and stabbed the man in the foot with his switchblade. The man screamed out in pain as Roman grabbed Emile by the foot and violently dragged him under the table, accidentally hitting Emile in the head with one of the legs of the table.

Just as Roman looked up Remus grabbed at the end of the gun and pulled down, surprising the pained shooter into letting go of the weapon. Remus shoved the gun away and Roman jumped for it while both Remy and Remus tackled the man, Remus pepper spraying him while some other students followed suit in apprehending the man.

Roman didn't move his attention away from the gun as he grabbed it and turned the safety on. Once he did that he slid the gun further away from the shooter.

_"You see, the thing is, fear is an emotion, and courage is a decision..."_

Just then, the police entered the premise of the library, all them holding up their guns as they examined everyone in the room, most people still hidden under the library tables, the only person standing being Roman while the others held down the shooter who still trashed against them.

The police didn't even glance at the bodies strewn around the library, their blood staining the carpets.

The police advanced forward quickly, guns hold down now as they advanced them. 

Roman didn't let himself feel any relief.

They'd been to late to save them. 

Logan watched as a whole classroom came out once more, some being dragged out, most of them sobbing while some held onto them, helping them out.

They weren't running, some of them walking while others pushed some of the most distraught the leave.

They all had a haunted expression to them, not only holding the fear that everyone else had.

The police must've caught the shooter.

The four friends left the building. 

They all held onto each other, limping from time to time and tripping over each others feet, of which left trails of blood behind them, from stepping on the blood soaked carpet. 

They weren't willing to let go of one another.

They kept a hold of each other, knowing that if they let go, they'd all fall apart.

Emile let out broken sobs, Roman and Emile squeezed in between Remy and Remus. None of them uttered a word to the other, simply holding onto each other, holding each other hands and side hugging each other with a grip of steel. 

Roman looked down, tears rolling down his cheeks as Emile sobbed openly, tears running down his cheeks, sometimes gasping for air. Roman held onto his hand while Remy side hugged him. He could feel the boy shaking uncontrollably.

None of them commented on it.

"This way" Remus whispered into his brothers ear softly, rather uncharacteristic for him, but Roman didn't pay it any mind. He glanced up to where Remus was pointing and saw Logan waving at them from behind a car. Roman felt short lived relief at that.

At least Logan was okay.

Logan was okay.

Roman let Remy and Remus guide the two towards it, Emile basically needing to be dragged to it. Roman squeezed his hand tighter, hoping to ground him.

Once they arrived behind the car, they all slowly sat down, still not letting go of one another. Logan looked at them with a worried look that Roman had trouble comprehending in his hazy mind.

"What happened?" Logan asked, and Emile sobbed louder. They all remained silent for a moment before Remy cut the silence.

"Dee... They wouldn't let us see Dee" Remy said, voice trembling slightly, but he tried to keep up his strong facade. He needed to be the rock that grounded them all. He needed to be there for them. There was sudden understanding in Logan's eyes, and he didn't push any more.

"Where are Virgil and Patton?" Roman asked, voice cracking, and Logan tensed suddenly.

"I... I don't know-" Logan said, voice holding worry and a hint of desperation.

_"We all tried to hold hope that they were okay..."_

_"Was it hard?"_

_"Yeah, when you step over the dead bodies of the people you knew, it's kind of hard to keep hope"_

<s></s>They sat out there, everyone sitting in silence.

No one commented on the blood that stained their shoes. 

No one in the four of them talked about three friends that were still stuck inside. They all tried to find comfort in their touch, in the fact that at least they had all survived. 

Tried to find comfort in the presence of each other.

Slowly, people started trickling out of the school after what felt like hours, and everyone paid wrap attention to the people that left. Slowly, everyone started standing up, the two teens who had been seated on the ground next to them standing up as well. 

Then, the girl gasped.

"Thomas!" The girl, Valerie, as Logan had later learned, called out and gripped Terrence's hand tightly as they both ran full force towards someone who was looking around frantically. When the boy, Thomas, looked up, his eyes widened and he ran towards them, the three meeting each other at full force in the middle, crying happy tears as the three hugged each other tightly.

The five others glanced at each other nervously, still looking out for their friends to exit.

Then, Virgil and Patton exited.

The two held hands while they held onto two other people that the five didn't know of. Those two looked around simultaneously, then spotted the three people hugging each other.

Two other people ran up to the, one wearing a beanie while the other had beautifully dyed hair. They all hugged each other, crying and sobbing as they sank to the floor together, glad to have all made it out.

At that moment Virgil and Patton looked over to the five who were all running towards them. Virgil's eyes widened, and just as he was about to run away, Patton gripped at his hand tighter and ran towards them as well. As the five tackled them, the two fell to the ground.

They now mirrored the other group, all of them on the floor, some of them crying and sobbing as they all held onto each other for dear life. 

They weren't okay. They were all so far from okay.

_But they were all alive._

Virgil grunted softly as he shoved his hands into his pockets, staring down at the multiple gravestones that now lined the school walls on the outside. Countless flowers were placed down along them. It's been a week since the shooting, and school had been called off for the next two weeks because of the attack. 

In the end, 31 people had died in the shooting while 78 had been injured. Usually, the death count was higher than the injured count, but the shooter seemingly had really bad aim. It turned out that 5 of them had been personnel while the others were all students. 

Virgil glanced over towards towards his friends who were all placing a single flower on the gravestones. Virgil, Remy and Logan had both decided to sit back on this one. They now stood next to each other, watching the others.

Once they'd all placed a flower on every gravestone, the four of them walking back over to the three who waited for them near one of the trees further away.

"Okay, we're done" Remus said, and Patton smiled shyly and nodded slightly. All of them had gotten so much closer within the past week, having trouble separating from one another. Now a days, they always had sleep overs.

None of their parents, or in Virgil and Patton's case, foster parents, commented on it, all of them knowing that they needed one another.

They'd had panic attacks, nightmares, flashbacks.

But they dealt with it, and they all supported each other. 

"Okay then, you guys ready to go?" Virgil inquired, and everyone looked around at each other and nodded to themselves. 

So, they all made their way to the bus, most everyone bantering or talking to each other as they made their way to the bus stop, as they did every evening now a days. 

_"We support each other through it all."_

They all slowly filled into the hospital room.

"Hey losers" Dee called out, smiling to them as they all entered the hospital.

"Hi fucker-" Virgil called out, smirking at Dee, who scoffed at the insult.

"I'm a wounded man, and you treat me like this?" Dee dramatised, and Virgil flipped him off in response. Patton lightly slapped Virgil and pouted.

"He started it!| Virgil tried to defend, but Patton just let out the disappointed sigh that would make anyone feel guilty. Virgil let out an annoyed huff but refused to apologise.

"Anyways! I brought you something!" Emile suddenly cut in nervously. Emile out of everyone had taken it the hardest, guilt eating him up a lot. He often insist it's his fault that Dee got injured, and every single time Dee calls that the claim is complete bullshit. So do the others. Emile held out a bag of fast food and Dee let out a gasp, instantly grabbing at it greedily.

"Actual food!" Dee screeched and instantly started opening the bag. He let out the most relieved sigh, as though he were a man starving "This is amazing, the hospital food fucking sucks-" Dee said and took out some fries and instantly started eating some.

"Okay, calm down- We don't want you getting sick on us" Roman cut in as he started pulling up chairs towards the bed.

"Never" Dee said before eating another fries defiantly, staring Roman in the eye. Roman simply sighed. Everyone started sitting in their usual spots. The hospital had let them use as many chairs as they needed, and so they kept the chairs in the room.

"Anyways, when will you be able to be discharged?" Logan inquired, and Dee hummed slightly.

"They say I should be gone by next week, but I'll need to have someone push me in a wheelchair for awhile" Dee said, gesturing vaguely towards his injured stomach. He'd been shot in the stomach in the shooters panic, but he'd been lucky enough to both have the bullet pass through his body, and also have it miss any vital organs. Logan nodded slightly at this.

"Anyways! I brought some board games!" Patton pipped up, gesturing to the bag he had been carrying. Remus instantly perked up.

"Dungeons and Dragons?" He asked, his voice having a childish lilt to it in his excitement, eyes basically shining with stars in them. Patton grinned slightly and nodded. Virgil groaned loudly.

"Oh god, weren't we at the part where you were seducing the guards to get out of prison?" Virgil asked, eyes narrowing in an accusatory glare as Remus grinned.

"Yep!" Remus called cheerily while everyone groaned at this new info, except for Dee, who usually just rolled with Remus antics.

"Just drink your problems away" Remy whispered to himself as he sipped at his Starbucks obnoxiously to put more emphasis on his sentence. Everyone laughed at this, or admonished him for making such a distasteful joke.

They are all far from okay, and they have problems to work through.

But at least they have each other.

_"Really, that's all we could've asked for"_

**Author's Note:**

> I've read up a bunch on the topic and googled a bunch about school shootings and what to do in that situation, and in this fanfic I used this principal.
> 
> AVOID.DENY.DEFEND
> 
> I used a bunch of real stories, statistics and school videos to put all of this together, and even a Ted Talk if I remember correctly. I haven't been personally educated about it much because where I live in Canada, the last School shooting was about 40 years ago, and we aren't at risk as much. 
> 
> The last time we had a drill was two years ago (I've been through only 3 drills for school shooter stuff-) and I learned more though the research I've done that anything I've been told. Even if we aren't at as much of a risk, I still believed it's better to be prepared for something that may never happen rather than stay ignorant in a situation where it does happen.
> 
> Anyways, the POV changes were for Tension and the Italics between paragraphs are them being interviewed, or something of the sort.
> 
> Just to get insight.
> 
> Anyways! Please comment, I adore reading them! =D


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